Objective:

To investigate the association between pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) attenuation and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), focusing on its role as a marker of coronary inflammatory burden at the lesion and patient levels.

Approach:

Key Findings:

• Lesions from patients who experienced MACE had higher (less negative) PCAT attenuation compared to those without events (p < 0.05).
• At the patient level, higher PCAT attenuation values were associated with increased hazard of MACE in both univariable and multivariable analyses (p < 0.01).
• Discriminatory performance of PCAT attenuation was modest (AUC 0.591), indicating limited ability to distinguish individuals at risk.

Interpretation:

PCAT attenuation is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes at the patient level, indicating its role as a marker of global coronary inflammatory burden, with stronger associations at the patient level than at the lesion level.

Limitations:

• Variability in PCAT measurement limits reproducibility and clinical interpretation.
• Limited discriminatory performance suggests PCAT attenuation should be interpreted as a complementary marker.

Conclusion:

PCAT attenuation reflects biologically relevant inflammatory processes but has limited discriminatory performance.

Attribution Notice

This content is an AI-generated, fully rewritten summary based on a published scholarly article. It does not reproduce the original text and is not a substitute for the original publication. Readers are encouraged to consult the source for full context, data, and methodology.